The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 417

Dan-Akseon frowned.

“An unpleasant entanglement?”

No sooner had he spoken than Beomgyewi cast a look of utter dismay at Han Seolhwa.

“Witch, when did you ever make enemies with the Ewha Palace [a powerful all-female martial arts sect]?”

Han Seolhwa was momentarily stunned and glared at Beomgyewi.

Beomgyewi, flinching at her gaze, tilted his head.

Belatedly noticing Yeon Ok-sang and Cho Ak-ryang glaring at each other, each exuding a chilling aura, Beomgyewi nodded as if realizing something.

“Ah! It was about Brother Cho?”

Beomgyewi lowered his voice.

“Is it because of that woman who was your first love?”

Han Seolhwa frowned.

“Why don’t you just shout it out loud?”

At Han Seolhwa’s rebuke, Beomgyewi realized his mistake and shut his mouth.

It was then that Yeon Ok-sang spoke.

“Wolhong, that child……”

But at that moment, Cho Ak-ryang’s shout cut her off.

“What right do you have to speak her name!”

“Right?”

Yeon Ok-sang curled her lips into a cold smile.

“Are you saying that child ended up that way because of me?”

At Yeon Ok-sang’s words, a terrifying murderous intent flickered in Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes.

“Your audacity remains unchanged, then and now.”

Yeon Ok-sang also revealed her murderous intent, glaring at Cho Ak-ryang.

“Alive or dead, that child is still a member of this palace. Someone like you can never aspire to her.”

“……!”

Cho Ak-ryang’s anger was about to reach its boiling point.

Dan-Akseon hurriedly intervened.

Stepping between the two, Dan-Akseon met Yeon Ok-sang’s gaze.

“Didn’t the Palace Lord send an invitation to discuss matters with me?”

At those words, Yeon Ok-sang sighed softly and nodded.

“Very well. Let us put aside our personal feelings for the moment.”

With that, Yeon Ok-sang opened her mouth with a serious expression.

“Soon, the Demonic Sect [a major antagonist force] will bare its fangs towards the Central Plains [the heartland of the orthodox martial arts world].”

A look of bewilderment appeared in Dan-Akseon’s eyes.

There was no one present who was unaware of that fact.

But someone of the Ewha Palace Lord’s stature would not make such an obvious statement.

As expected.

Dan-Akseon’s expression changed at her next words.

“If the elite forces of the Central Plains head to the Divine Land [a region often associated with powerful martial arts factions or hidden dangers], this Central Plains will be virtually defenseless. The Demonic Sect’s vanguard, led by Sima Jon, is waiting for an opportunity in a secret location.”

“How do you……?”

As he questioned, something suddenly came to Dan-Akseon’s mind.

The three hundred Guardian Demons who had completed their training in the Divine Land and gathered at the main base.

The whereabouts were unknown, and their purpose could only be guessed at, but after hearing Yeon Ok-sang’s words, the pieces finally fell into place.

Dan-Akseon let out a groan.

If their martial prowess was on par with those he had encountered in Kunlun [a mythical mountain range often associated with powerful martial artists and immortals], the damage to the Nine Great Sects [major martial arts factions], left with a power vacuum, would be immense.

Yeon Ok-sang nodded confidently at the bewildered Dan-Akseon.

“There is no need to doubt. It is an undeniable fact.”

Dan-Akseon had to ask.

“How can you be so sure?”

“A person on our side who has been operating secretly within the Demonic Sect for a long time. It is information he recently passed on.”

Dan-Akseon’s eyes widened.

To think that Ewha Palace had planted a spy within the Demonic Sect.

“May I ask who that is?”

“His name is Jegal San.”

“Could he be from the Jegal Clan [a family known for their intelligence and strategic thinking]?”

Yeon Ok-sang nodded.

“He is the youngest son of the current head of the Jegal Clan. A few years ago, the head of the Jegal Clan announced that he would pass on the position of the next head of the clan to him.”

Dan-Akseon had heard that story before.

The announcement that the headship would be passed on to the third son, whose whereabouts were unknown, rather than the eldest son, Jegal Jin, or the second son, Jegal Yeon, had raised many questions at the time.

“The Demonic Sect sought Jegal San’s advice on the invasion of the Central Plains. So he suggested a plan to strike the bases of each faction first to create chaos when a power vacuum occurred in the Central Plains, a scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain [a strategy of distracting the main force by attacking elsewhere]. And the Demonic Sect’s people accepted it.”

“Is someone from the Jegal Clan helping the Demonic Sect?”

“Of course not.”

Yeon Ok-sang continued with her characteristic cold expression.

“A plan to use the enemy’s scheme to strike back, a ruse to deceive the enemy. It is merely a part of a self-sacrificing plan for this purpose. In reality, he is imprisoned in the Demonic Sect’s prison, deprived of his freedom.”

While Dan-Akseon was speechless with surprise, a secret that no one knew flowed from Yeon Ok-sang’s lips.

“From the beginning, he was intentionally captured by the Demonic Sect.”

It began when the Demonic Sect leaked a half-finished Demonic Art manual into the Central Plains.

Jegal San, sensing something was amiss, began to formulate a plan and put it into action.

“His purpose from the beginning was one.”

It was none other than the Anti-Demonic Art.

He thought that by researching the key to the Anti-Demonic Art, which could be said to be the antithesis of Demonic Art, and making it public throughout the Central Plains, he could completely suppress the repeated rampages of the Demonic Sect.

“Since when……?”

“It was five years ago that he came to me. He asked me to help him, saying that he would throw himself into the Demonic Sect.”

Dan-Akseon couldn’t help but be amazed.

He had never imagined that there was someone fighting the Demonic Sect far ahead of them.

Yeon Ok-sang, guessing his thoughts, nodded.

“It’s just that they weren’t revealed, but he wasn’t the only one who was slowing down the Demonic Sect’s rampage. Your parents were also among those people.”

Still, questions remained.

“But how did he know the location of Ewha Palace and go there?”

“That’s……”

For the first time, Yeon Ok-sang was at a loss for words.

It was then.

Dan-Akseon murmured quietly.

“The fact that he was in contact with the person imprisoned in the prison means that there is a means of communication that has not been detected by the Demonic Sect. This means that there are people from Ewha Palace within the Demonic Sect.”

This time, Yeon Ok-sang was startled.

Even though they had only exchanged a few words, she had not anticipated that he would be able to pinpoint such specific circumstances based on the fragmented information within.

Yeon Ok-sang quickly changed the subject.

“Now that you know the Demonic Sect’s plan, you know how to respond, right?”

Dan-Akseon suddenly felt something was wrong.

If their response accurately hit the mark, the Demonic Sect would surely realize that their plan had been leaked.

The first person to be suspected would be Jegal San.

“Wouldn’t that put him in danger?”

A complex emotion flickered across Yeon Ok-sang’s eyes for a moment before disappearing.

“From the beginning, he did not consider his own safety.”

Dan-Akseon groaned.

Although they had never met, he felt sorry for the situation he was in.

At that moment, Yeon Ok-sang took something out of her sleeve.

It was a small jade flute with a bluish tint.

Following Yeon Ok-sang’s gesture, the flute floating in the air slowly moved towards Dan-Akseon.

As Dan-Akseon reached out and took the flute, Yeon Ok-sang opened her mouth.

“If you want to contact me, you can use this. For a while, someone from our side will be staying nearby.”

With those words, Yeon Ok-sang disappeared back into the Sign Vehicle [likely a magically concealed or disguised carriage].

It was a blatant attitude that she did not want to exchange any more words with Cho Ak-ryang.

And after a while.

Just like when they first arrived, the Sign Vehicle disappeared into the darkness in an instant.

Only then did Dan-Akseon turn to Cho Ak-ryang and offer a worried look.

“Are you alright?”

Cho Ak-ryang, who had been staring in the direction where the Sign Vehicle had disappeared, sighed softly.

“The fact that that arrogant woman is moving so directly means that Ewha Palace is also betting everything on this.”

“It seems that Ewha Palace also has deep grudges against the Demonic Sect.”

“The Palace Lord’s master died during the Righteous-Demonic War [a historical conflict between orthodox and unorthodox martial arts factions].”

And that day.

‘I also lost someone.’

Cho Ak-ryang, with a complex look in his eyes, wore a bitter smile.

“Even if I don’t know anything else, I can trust that woman’s animosity towards the Demonic Sect. Because hating someone is the only reason for that woman to live.”

* * *

The next day.

As soon as the day dawned, Dan-Akseon met Hongjeokmun and made a request.

At Dan-Akseon’s request to inquire about someone’s whereabouts, Hongjeokmun willingly mobilized the Beggars’ Sect [an information network].

And before long, they were able to easily locate the person Dan-Akseon was looking for.

Dan-Akseon headed straight to the place Hongjeokmun had told him.

Fortunately, it was not far from Muwi.

“You look like you have many questions.”

Seol Nanyeong did not lose her composure despite Dan-Akseon’s unexpected visit.

Unlike Cho Ak-ryang, the boy in front of her was easier to deal with.

Besides, she already had some idea of the purpose of Dan-Akseon’s visit.

“You must be curious about the story between the Blood Demon Lord [Cho Ak-ryang’s title] and the Ewha Palace Lord, right?”

“Yes.”

Asking the person involved was the most certain way, but he didn’t want to do that.

It wasn’t that Cho Ak-ryang wouldn’t refuse if he asked.

But he didn’t want to stir up old, painful memories.

Above all, Ewha Palace was a force that might have to join forces to fight the Demonic Sect in the future.

Before that, it was necessary to know what kind of person the Ewha Palace Lord was.

Therefore, he needed an objective perspective from a third party, not a hostile and biased one.

“Well, it’s difficult to ask someone about their past. It’s also the most untouchable part of his old sore spots.”

Seol Nanyeong put on her coat and got up from her seat.

“Shall we take a walk for a while?”

Seol Nanyeong, who had stepped outside, walked side by side with Dan-Akseon.

“You know about the Cheongseong Blood Demon, right?”

As Dan-Akseon nodded, Seol Nanyeong continued.

“It was when he was in closed-door training to gain the power to take revenge.”

A deep valley untouched by human feet.

It was truly a coincidence that Cho Ak-ryang, who was pushing himself every day in training, met a woman there.

“The woman, who was heading to a certain place to carry out the Ewha Palace Lord’s orders at the time, bathed in the waterfall to wash away her sweat.”

But it happened to be the place where Cho Ak-ryang was staying.

To be exact, it was a cave located beyond the waterfall.

Cho Ak-ryang hid his presence and waited for her to leave.

“Then she got caught.”

The woman, who had finished bathing, belatedly noticed that someone was staying nearby.

As it was a place where she usually trained, there was no way to avoid leaving traces.

But after searching the surroundings thoroughly, she couldn’t find anyone and soon left the place.

Cho Ak-ryang, who came out of the cave after a long time, was startled.

The woman, who he thought had left, was glaring at him with a fierce aura.

And the woman tried to kill him.

“Why?”

“Because she thought he had peeped at her naked body.”

“Just…… for that reason?”

Seol Nanyeong wore her unique seductive smile.

“That’s what the women of Ewha Palace are like. They have always been like that, but they are obsessed with protecting their chastity.”

A strict discipline that keeps men away.

Because thoughts close to obsession were ingrained in their bodies.

“The problem is that the martial prowess of the two was similar at the time.”

She was the second disciple of the Ewha Palace Lord at the time, and was competing with Yeon Ok-sang, the chief disciple, for the position of the next Palace Lord.

So she tried desperately to kill Cho Ak-ryang.

Having mastered the Ewha Palace’s supreme martial arts, she possessed martial prowess that was hard to find an equal in the Central Plains.

Coincidentally, Cho Ak-ryang was also on the verge of completing his training at the time.

The two fought for a whole day and night, but could not come to a conclusion.

“In the end, the two promised to compete again the next day to settle the score.”

But Cho Ak-ryang had no intention of keeping that promise from the beginning.

At the time, revenge was all that mattered in his life, so he couldn’t waste time unnecessarily.

Cho Ak-ryang broke his promise with the woman and left the place as it was.

Then he hid in an even deeper mountain where no one could find him.

Fortunately, Cho Ak-ryang never encountered her again until he completed his martial arts.

“The place where the two met again was Cheongseong Mountain.”